EPTWCS America Group G Preview
by DarkLordOlli
WCS America's Ro32 continues with Group G, in which everyone has something to prove. For obvious favorite
TaeJa, the goal is to redeem himself after a disappointing and surprising exit last season. For 
XiGua and hendralisk, its all about showing the world that they can hang with the big guns. Finally, 
LiquidHerO's slump has continued for far too long and he will try his hardest to put it in the past with a good run in WCS. Let's start with the most recent IEM champion,
Liquid'TaeJa. His storyline in WCS America seems to be repeating itself season after season ever since its inception. TaeJa is out there claiming tournaments left and right, but hasn't performed up to his standards in the later stages of Premier League. A 0-3 loss to Pigbaby in last season's Ro8 wasn't the first time the Liquid terran has looked like the big favorite to win the entire season, only to then play uncharacteristically weak and get swept aside by the eventual champion. TaeJa's results around WCS made his elimination from last season even more stunning: an undefeated Dreamhack run after a HSC IX win, then a brutal, one sided loss in Premier League, then an IEM Shenzhen championship? Something is entirely off here. Somehow, WCS America has eluded TaeJa entirely and once again, perhaps for the last time, TaeJa's only goal entering this tournament is to walk away from it with the trophy in his hands.
His first opponent of the night probably has his expectations set a bit lower.
coL.hendralisk impressed in his Challenger match, sweeping ViBE 3-0 to reclaim his Premier League spot. Last season must have been a disappointment for him as well, falling out of the Ro32 in 4th place. This group looks even harder and hendralisk will have his work cut out for him if he wants any chance of making it through. The ZvT matchup has historically been his weakest according to Aligulac statistics, which certainly does not bode well for him as he starts the day off against a very capable TvZer in TaeJa. Great ZvZ has been his ticket into Premier League twice, but the only other zerg in the group is XiGua who himself doesn't strike me as particularly vulnerable in the mirror matchup. On top of that, hendralisk might have to face off against another tournament favorite in HerO. He could surprise us again but the odds certainly aren't in his favor.
The Chinese zerg
iG.XiGua is in a very similar spot to hendralisk in this group. He's not a tournament favorite by any means but has surprised us before. Falling to Heart and eventual champion Pigbaby last season is a result that was expected by many, but also one we can forgive him for. Those two were favored over him and ended up eliminating him. But now, XiGua must be aiming to take the next step. Heart and Pigbaby both reached the semifinals. They are the caliber of players that XiGua will have set his eyes on beating. Getting to the Ro16 is one thing, challenging tournament favorites there is another. I wouldn't be surprised to see XiGua fall to TaeJa and HerO, but he really has nothing to lose here. He'll have another go at taking out potential contenders but we won't be too disappointed in him if he doesn't end up advancing.
Among all this talk of tournament favorites, we have to stop and ask ourselves this question: can
LiquidHerO be considered one at the moment? Ever since his IEM Cologne win, performances and results for the handsome protoss have declined massively. His Dreamhack Summer finals appearance ended in a 0-3 beating by TaeJa, and aside from that there are almost no impressive results for me to list. However, after having no practice for almost a month upon moving out of the IM house, he has finally shown a sign of life in the recent WEC qualifier. Looking sharp against Ryung, Nestea and Billowy, HerO qualified for the Chinese event and looked to have improved his overall shape at least a little. WCS America has been a source of disappointment for his fans over the past few seasons, but he's vowed to do better this time:
With a healthy practice schedule in place again and the motivation and confidence to do well, perhaps HerO can start reclaiming his championship contender status tonight?
Predictions:
TaeJa is the obvious pick to win this group and not many would argue against it. With HerO slowly getting back in shape and the PvT matchup being his most reliable one though, the Liquid protoss might have a chance at taking first place in the group. The PvZ matchup is the one giving him trouble at the moment, but I would still favor him over both zergs in this group. XiGua has beaten HerO before, but I don't think it will happen again this time around. hendralisk got extremely unlucky with TaeJa as his first opponent and I don't see him recovering from what I believe is almost a certain initial loss.
TaeJa > hendralisk
XiGua < HerO
TaeJa > HerO
hendralisk > XiGua
HerO > hendralisk
TaeJa and HerO advance to the Ro16.
TL bias. 
